Part two of the Ode to the Bean trilogy recipe is an asparagus-bean salad with lemon vinaigrette. Its crispy lemon-panko topping is pretty special, if I don't say so myself. It makes a great side dish, but we ate it as our main course and loved it.

To bring you up to speed, last week I cooked up one pound of Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanca beans. My objective was to create three unique recipes that wouldn't having us hating beans by the end of the week. The three recipes-- today's lemony asparagus-bean salad, along with pasta with beans and mushrooms, and brothy beans-and-greens bowl-- resulted in three distinct, tasty success stories.

What's so exciting about starting with dried beans?

I waxed on about the joys of beans in the first post, so today, let's talk size.

Some beans are tiny and others are huge. Think of beans like you think of all the different pasta shapes-- each one holds a special charm depending on what it is you want to prepare or serve them with. There's a bean for every liking and situation.

In case you're wondering, it takes 19 Alubia Blancas to reach the weight of one Corona bean, which happens to be 3 grams. These are the kind of things I nerd out on!

I'll say it again-- it's hard to be bored when you have a world of beans to explore.

Growers + Makers Wine Notes:

A favorite of ours, Artisanal Wine Cellars 2013 Adams Old Vine Reserve is a graceful representative of Oregon Pinot Noir. This wine was grown in the Chehalem Mountains, and is a food-friendly delight as much as it is an ethereal sipper. Notes of mineral, forest floor, and soft cherry carry through.

The soft tannins in this wine work just fine with the raw asparagus. I would think twice about putting it together with cooked asparagus.

For the Lemony-Asparagus-Bean Salad, you'll start with a pot of cooked beans. No one can describe how to do this easy, basic step better than the folks at Rancho Gordo, so allow me to make that introduction. "Rancho Gordo, meet my friend. Friend. . . Rancho Gordo."

This almost no-cook dish comes together in minutes. (The panko topping is quickly crisped up in a skillet in about 5 minutes.) Here's where the value of cooking the beans earlier in the week comes! It's not often you run across ideas for raw asparagus, and I'm not sure why-- it's a perfect salad ingredient. Gluten-free and dairy-free options are noted in the recipe.

Next up we'll wrap up the Ode to Beans trilogy with the Beans, Greens, and Pork recipe. Be well, friends.

Lemony Asparagus-Bean Salad with Crispy Lemon Topping

Course: Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Pacific Northwest

Season: Evergreen (April - July), Mist (November - March)

Dietary: Vegetarian

Preparation: Fast + Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Crunchy thinly-sliced raw asparagus and creamy white beans in a simple lemon vinaigrette, with crispy panko and sharp Parmesan curls, on the table in 15 minutes.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 3 cups cooked white beans
• 1 bunch asparagus, thick stems peeled, thinly sliced on a sharp diagonal
• 1 green onion or green garlic stalk, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Crispy Lemon Topping

• ½ cup panko, regular of gluten-free
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• zest of one lemon (reserved from above)
• salt to taste
• 2 ounces shaved Parmesan (omit for dairy-free option)

Instructions

For the Salad

• Prep the asparagus, the green onion or green garlic, and the chives. In a mixing bowl, combine the prepared vegetables, white beans, and herbs with the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Place in serving bowl or platter.

For the Crispy Lemon Topping

• Heat the olive oil to medium-high heat in a small skillet. Add the panko and stir to coat it evenly with the oil. (It will absorb the oil, leaving very little at all in the pan.) Flatten the panko out across the bottom of the pan, and leave it to toast for about 45-60 seconds before stirring. Repeat until the crumbs are thoroughly toasted to a medium brown, being careful not to burn the crumbs. This should take 5 minutes or less.
• Place the crumbs in a small bowl. Stir for a minute or two to cool them slightly. Add a pinch of salt and the grated lemon zest, stirring to incorporate the zest throughout. The slight warmth of the crumbs will make the zest very fragrant.
• Spoon the crispy lemon topping over the salad. Shave the Parmesan with a vegetable peeler, and place the Parmesan curls over the salad to serve.

Notes

Make it Your Own:

Try fresh mint or other herbs instead of or with the chives.

Artichokes are another of the short-season wonders, and we try to eat as many as we can while they are available. This terrific artichoke recipe from Allison Roman's book Nothing Fancy is super easy, and makes the most succulent, juicy, and rich-tasting artichokes ever. It's nice to have a new addition to the 'choke repertoire. 

After making this a dozen times or more, I want to encourage you to free yourself from exact measurements, and think instead about ratios. Start with as many artichokes as you plan to serve. I encourage you to make extra while you're at it as they are fantastic cold or warmed up as leftovers.

Making the Wine-Roasted Artichoke Recipe

First, think big as far as your baking dish goes. It's surprising how much space the halved artichokes need for their flat surfaces to touch the pan. From there, just think in terms of having about 1/4-inch of wine in the bottom of the pan around the artichokes, to which you'll add another 1/4-inch of water. (I use Sarver Winery Pinot Gris for this-- my favorite from our neighboring winery!) You'll generously drizzle the artichokes with olive oil, and plop in maybe a half-tablespoon or more of butter for each artichoke half in the dish. Crush as many garlic cloves as you like-- we go big on garlic at this house, so perhaps 2 cloves for every artichoke half, and sprinkle the tops of them amply with kosher salt and red pepper flakes, or my favorite Aleppo pepper.

Aside from prepping the artichokes, the hands-on time is just a couple of minutes. Cover it in foil, bake in a 425 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, depending on the size of your artichokes. Remove the foil from the pan, and assess if it needs a little more water-- you don't want the pan to run dry but do want a reduced glaze to form. Then continue to roast them for another 15 minutes until they turn a deep mahogany, and the cooking liquid reduces into a garlicy little sauce you'll want to dip bread into.

This is the Artichoke Recipe Choice for Part Givers

If you're hosting a gathering, this dish is for you! It can be made ahead, either the day of or the day before, and warmed back up at the last minute. The artichokes are equally charming served room temperature for warm-day entertaining. While the artichokes pair perfectly with most white wine varieties, they really shine served with the same Sarver Winery Pinot Gris they are cooked in.

Have you noticed what happens when a crowd of people eat with their fingers? It's a magical way to drop barriers and bring people together. Put a bowl on the table for guests to toss their tooth-scraped outer leaves into.

What shall I serve with Wine-Roasted Artichokes?

This dish makes a lovely first course, if you like stretching the table adventure out for hours like we do. It's also a perfect accompaniment to fish, chicken, or pork tenderloin. It is equally good as part of a vegetarian meal, served with a nutty rice pilaf or lemony pasta.

Guess what?

This exact technique works to sweeten and juice-up fennel. Give it a try!

Other Springtime Recipes to Try

24-Karat Carrot Risotto: Get the recipe here.
Modern Pasta Primavera: Get the recipe here.
Lemony Asparagus White Bean Salad: Get the recipe here.

Blissful Wine-Roasted Artichokes

Course: Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: Pacific Northwest

Season: Evergreen (April - July)

Dietary: Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegetarian

Preparation: Roasting

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Adapted from Alison Roman

These super easy, garlicky, succulent, juicy, and rich-tasting artichokes are a great make-ahead dish, and are excellent paired with most white wines.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 artichokes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. butter or ghee
• 6-8 cloves garlic, crushed with the broad side of a knife
• pinch red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the over to 425°.
• Trim the edible artichoke stem of any woody parts, leaving as much of it as you can. Snap off the bottom one or two layers of tough outer leaves. Use kitchen shears to trim the thorny ends of the remaining leaves, if any. With a serrated or chef's knife, cut about 1 ½" from the crown of the artichoke, exposing the yellowish and rosy interior.
• Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, dig out the fuzzy choke of each half, removing all fuzzy bits. Some of the purple-tipped center leaves will come out, too. Place the cut side down into a large baking dish (don't underestimate the size of dish you'll need-- the cut artichokes take up a lot of space!)
• Pour the wine, water, and olive oil over the artichokes. Add the butter, cut or pinched into pieces, and smashed garlic. Generously sprinkle each half with kosher salt, red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper, and black pepper. Cover tightly with foil and roast until the artichokes are fork-tender, about 45 minutes, depending on their size.
• Remove the foil and continue to roast another 15 minutes or so until the liquid is mostly evaporated and the tops are a mahogany brown. Take care that the liquid doesn't entirely evaporate-- add a little water if needed.
• To serve, scrape up the garlicky oil at the bottom of the baking dish to spoon on top of the artichokes.

Notes

Make it Your Own:

Use the same exact process for whole fennel bulbs. Very tasty! Perhaps experiment with other vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, and turnips, altering the roasting time depending on their tenderness. 

Dairy-free option: substitute olive oil for the butter. 

Some evenings are just not made for fussing over dinner. After a long work day; kids' sports-music-dance-chess club-art-study group activities; community meetings; and who knows what, all cooks need some go-to quick, hot, hearty, tasty things we can make with our eyes closed.

This recipe got me through the flurry of raising my then-tween and teen-agers, and still is a completely comforting and serviceable years later. Over the years I've done a lot of "Making It My Own" improv riffing, and it's always forgiving and welcome.

A big plus to this recipe guideline is that it easily accommodates a range of dietary needs within a household. It's easy to make a burrito cheesy-gooey for one person and dairy-free for another, and it offers the same flexibility with gluten-free and vegan options.

If you're into left overs, plan to make some. It's a jump-start to a hearty Joe's Special egg scramble the next morning, or a great topping for a plate of Friday night nachos.

In my real-world life, not every meal is a multi-course beautifully plated affair. Nope, some nights are just about getting it done, and that's good enough, especially when one of my adult sons still asks, "Hey, Mom, can I come over for spinach burritos?" That's a sign of a successful recipe.

Cheap Quick + Easy 20-Minute Beefy (or Beany) Spinach Burritos

Course: Main Dish, Quick + Easy

Cuisine: Mexican

Season: Bounty (August - October), Evergreen (April - July), Mist (November - March)

Preparation: One Pot/One Pan

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 small burritos

The perfect veggie-filled busy-night dinner when you need something hot, delicious and NOW! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan option, too!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ lb. ground beef, vegan ground meat substitute OR
• 3 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained plus 2 Tbsp. olive oil for the pan
• 6 cloves garlic, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ¼ Cups store-bought salsa
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies, or add another ½ cup salsa
• 8 to 10 oz. fresh spinach
• 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 medium flour or GF tortillas
• canola or other cooking spray
• cilantro, additional salsa and sour cream for garnish

Instructions

• In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef or meat substitute, garlic, cumin, and salt.
• If replacing the meat with canned beans, add 2 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan before adding the beans.
• When the meat (or beans) and spices are well-browned, stir in in the salsa and green chilis.
• Add the spinach leaves, two or three handfuls at a time, stirring them in until they wilt before adding the next few handfuls, until all the spinach is wilted and mixed through.
• Heat a separate large skillet to medium high. Spray one side of each tortilla with the cooking spray (this will help them crisp up.*) Place the sprayed side down in the heated skillet, and sprinkle a little of the cheese down the center. (Omit the cheese for vegan/dairy-free options.) Spoon the beefy spinach filling down the center of the tortilla. Fold the edges over the filling, burrito-style. When the first side is browned, flip the burrito over to crisp it too.
  
• Place the burritos on serving plates and garnish with additional salsa, green chilis, cilantro, and sour cream (omit for vegan/diary-free versions) as desired.
  

Notes

Make It Your Own:

• add a chopped onion to the skillet when browning the ground beef
• try this with ground chicken or turkey
• experiment with adding chili powder and/or dried Mexican oregano
• add a chopped stems from a bunch of cilantro with the spinach
• fancy expensive salsa is not needed in this recipe, but have fun experimenting with different inexpensive ones. 
• bump up the heat with spicier salsa, or add a chopped jalapeno to the meet as it browns. 

*This cooking spray tip is also how I soften corn tortillas for tacos and enchiladas. No need to pour oil into a skillet to do this task, just a simple shot of cooking spray. 

Carrot Risotto + Green Garlic Sauce is just right for the spring feasts that are about to begin-- Passover is concluding, Easter is this weekend, Earth Day is around the corner, and Mother's Day is soon to follow. Today was our first glorious 70-degree day in Oregon's Willamette Valley, and everything green and growing is excited. Flowers, grasses, early vegetables, and weeds. Did I mention weeds?

Each step toward spring unleashes an undesirable field of weeds. My two hands can't pluck fast enough. Maybe my heart and mind need a little weeding, too, to make space for a goldmine of more desirable growth.

Whether your spring celebrations are about freedom from bondage, the resurrection of a savior, or your motherly origins-- Mother Earth or your earthly mom-- you need a good feast. 24-Karat Carrot Risotto + Green Garlic Sauce is a luxurious and celebratory substitute for scalloped potatoes or kugel worthy of becoming a tradition.

Carrot Risotto + Green Garlic Sauce Kitchen Notes

Sometimes the visual length of a recipe can stop people from making it. Don't let that stop you here. I've just broken the carrot risotto recipe into tiny digestible pieces. I tell you more than you may need to know-- color, scent, and what to look for each step of the way. Skim over these details if you are comfortable, and you'll relish these queues if this is new ground you're digging. This recipe is naturally gluten free, and no one will notice that it is easily made dairy free and vegan.

Happy spring feasting. Happy weeding, be it outside or in.

Other Springtime Feast Recipes to Try:

Blissful Wine-Roasted Artichokes: Get the recipe here.
Modern Pasta Primavera. Get the recipe here.

The 24 Karat Feast: Carrot Risotto + Green Garlic Sauce

Course: Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Season: Evergreen (April - July)

Dietary: Egg-Free, Gluten-Free

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Use this risotto as a special side dish or luxurious main for all your springtime feasts. Either way, it's pure gold!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Carrot Stock

• 12 oz carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 cups water
• 2 tsp salt

The Risotto

• 2 Tbsp butter or ghee
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1¼ cups Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• salt and white pepper to taste

To Finish the Dish

• 2 large carrots, diced into small squares
• 1 Tbsp butter

Green Garlic Sauce

• 3 stalks spring garlic, finely minced (see substitutions below)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 small Meyer or regular lemon juice and zest
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the Green Garlic Sauce

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Make the carrot stock

• Place the roughly chopped carrots in a small saucepan with 5 cups water. Generously salt the water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cover with a lid. Allow carrots to cook about 15 minutes, until fork tender but not falling apart. Using an immersion blender (stick blender) or traditional blender, blend the carrots into to cooking water until perfectly smooth. Keep warm and set aside.

Make the Risotto

• While the stock is cooking, prep the shallot and garlic. In a large saucepan or saucier over medium heat, combine the butter and olive oil. Add the rice and sauted, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the rice becomes opaque and fragrant. Add the shallot and garlic, stirring frequently, until they become translucent. The rice will continue to toast and become light beige while the shallot and garlic cook. Medium heat and frequent stirring will avoid any of the ingredients from deeply browning or burning at this point.
• Add the dry white wine, stirring vigorously. Once it is nearly absorbed, begin adding one ladleful at a time of the warm carrot broth, stirring very frequently, until it is nearly absorbed, then repeat adding broth and stirring until the rice grains have cooked to al dente-- "to the tooth," meaning the centers still have a little bit of chewiness. If you use all the carrot broth and the rice isn't yet cook through, add water and cook, stirring all the time, until it reached your desired texture. By all means, avoid letting the pot go to overcooked mush.

To Finish

• In a small skillet or sauted pan, gently cook the small-diced carrots in butter until barely becoming tender, about 5 minutes over medium heat. You still want a little crunch to them, and they will add a nice texture contrast to the creamy risotto.
• Place the carrot risotto in a serving bowl. Top with the pretty little carrot squares. Place a generous spoonful of green garlic sauce on top. Set remaining sauce on the table.

Notes

Make it Your Own:

For a completely vegan dish, replace butter with olive oil.

The white wine is optional, but makes a lovely difference if you can use it.

This recipe does not include the traditional Parmesan cheese, but if dairy is not your concern, add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan to the finished risotto, and garnish with more on top if you'd like. If you have dairy-free people at your table, don't add it to the pot-- simply set out a bowl of grated Parmesan for the dairy-eaters to use on their portions. 

The green garlic can be replaced with scallions, or any number of fresh herbs. Mint would be lovely. 

Welcome to the launch of 101-Mile Kitchen. Just as this Modern Pasta Primavera recipe represents springtime renewal, 101-Mile Kitchen is a new beginning for me. I formerly blogged as Sticks Forks Fingers beginning in 2009. Sticks Forks Fingers journaled my early experiences as a country dweller, my love for great food and great wine, my love of Oregon and its thriving food culture, and stories of falling in love with the man who became my husband.

101-Mile Kitchen will follow that thread, including recipes developed to encourage readers to cultivate their cooking intuition and confidence. The recipes you see here are developed to give you confidence to play, learn, and grow.

On these pages you will also meet some of my heroes-- the growers and makers who keep our community fed and happy. I hope this will encourage you to seek out the special people who dedicate their lives to growing and making food, wine, beer, and the like in your area, no matter where you live.

And, of course, you'll read stories about being in love, which come to learn is a whole different thing than falling in love. Cooking and loving, to me, are completely intertwined and provide magical opportunities to reflect on one another.

What is so Modern About this Pasta Primavera Recipe?

The premiere recipe for 101-Mile Kitchen is a Modern Pasta Primavera. Primavera, the Italian word for springtime, signals the new beginning cycle of growth we can count on year after year, no matter what else is going on in the world. The daffodils poke up their perky heads no matter what. If that isn't hopeful, I don't know what is.

Tender pasta squares make a bed for the sprightly vegetables. A sauce of pancetta, butter, white wine, and bright green herbs bath the the dish. (Be sure to check the recipe card for gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian options.) Softly boiled "jammy" eggs contribute to the sauce giving it even more of a springtime feel of the dish. It truly is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

Other Pasta Dishes You'll Love

Humble Pasta and Mushrooms: Get the recipe here.

Turkey Meatball + Roasted Lemon Zucchini Pasta: Get the recipe here.

If you like this recipe, please give it a rating by clicking the green stars in the recipe card below. And I invite you to follow my newsletter by signing up in the box at the bottom of the page. You'll receive a gift of my Flavors of Oregon tartine recipe booklet as soon as you do.

Modern Pasta Primavera

Course: Breakfast + Brunch, Main Dish

Cuisine: French

Season: Evergreen (April - July)

Dietary: Nut-Free

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

A deconstructed take on a classic, featuring early spring vegetables and a delicious new sauce.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1 bunch asparagus, stems peeled if thick
• 4 small artichokes, leaves and choke removed to expose heart, and cut into eighths or 1 12-14 ounce can or jar of artichoke hearts
• 1 pound fava beans, removed from their pods (optional) or edamame
• 12 ounces fresh or frozen peas
• 1 head fennel, sliced into fans through the root end
• 12 - 16 ounces fresh egg pasta sheets, or other pasta of your choice
• salt for pasta water and to taste

Primavera Sauce

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter or ghee
• 4 ounces pancetta, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 large shallot, finely minced
• ½ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 bunch fresh chives
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare the Eggs

• Cover the eggs with water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. For perfect jammy eggs, allow to boil for 7 minutes. While they are cooking prepare a bowl with ice water. After the eggs boil for 6 ½ minutes, remove them from the boiling water into the ice bath. Leave them in the ice bath for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water, peel them, slice them in half, and them set aside.

Get the Vegetables Ready

• Prepare all the vegetables: Peel the asparagus stems with a peeler if they are the chubby variety, and trim or snap off the woody ends. Pull off the leaves from the artichokes, scrape out the fuzzy chokes with a spoon, and trim the stem with a peeler. Remove the fava beans from their pods. Slice the fennel bulb into ½ inch fans down through the stem end. The peas will be added to the sauce later.
• Place a large pot of well-salted water on to boil. When it comes to a boil drop in the asparagus and let cook until bright green and just starting to be tender, about 4-5 minutes; remove an set aside. Drop in the shelled fava beans (or edamame) and cook 6 minutes until tender; remove and set aside. When the fava beans are cool enough to handle, slip them out of their waxy skin. Drop in the artichoke heart wedges (if using fresh artichokes) and cook until tender, about 6 minutes; remove and set aside. Keep the water at a low boil.

Make the Sauce

• Melt the butter into a 10" skillet or saucier over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until the pancetta has rendered some of its fat and is beginning to lightly brown.
• Add the sliced fennel to the skillet, and cook until just translucent, stirring often, about 5-6 minutes.
• Add the sliced garlic and minced shallot to the skillet, stirring often, until they are just beginning to become translucent, about 3 more minutes.
• Add the white wine and about a teaspoon of salt and ground pepper (to taste) to the sauce, stirring until the wine has reduced about half. (The fennel will absorb some of it.)
• Add the fresh or frozen peas to the sauce, cooking for one minute. Stir the finely minced chives and dill into the sauce, reserving a tablespoon of each for garnish. Turn the heat to low while you cook the pasta.
• Bring the pot of water back to a full boil. Cut the pasta sheets into 3" squares, drop them into the boiling water, and cook according to package directions. (Most fresh sliced garlic and minced shallot to the skillet, pasta only takes 90 seconds to cook.) Drain pasta and set aside.

Assembling the Dish

• On a pretty platter, lay out the cooked pasta squares. Arrange the asparagus, artichoke hearts, fava beans, peas, and fennel over the pasta. Spoon the sauce over the vegetables and pasta. Arrange the halved eggs over the top, and garnish with the remaining fresh herbs.

Notes

Make It Your Own:

Fava beans are wonderful, yet they can be hard to find and do add a little work to this dish. Feel free to omit them, or swap in edamame.

Prepping fresh artichokes to get to their hearts also adds a lot of time to this dish. For a shortcut substitute frozen, canned or jarred artichoke hearts (marinated or not.). 

Thick stemmed asparagus is preferred, but use what's available. 

Gluten-free option: use your favorite GF pasta.

Vegetarian option: omit the pancetta.

The success of this dish lies in not overcooking any of the vegetables. They are young and tender, and don't need much time on the heat to be perfect. 

Just when the "Third Places" urban panning concept became the norm the whole world broke. The fantastic little coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and public squares where people meet to exchange ideas, have a good time, and solidify relationships shut down. All the people packed up their backpacks and man bags and retreated home to their first places.

That was a year ago.

At first it was nice, right? Soft clothes, relaxed grooming habits and timelines, no commutes, more time with the family, pets, and houseplants was all right. With exception of the virtual school part that many of you have endured, there wasn't much to complain about in those first months, especially for us introverts.

Don't get me wrong-- my home is very, very nice. But as they say, familiarity breeds contempt. After 12 months of being trapped in it, there's a growing sense of malaise with my first space. So, I say to myself, what am I going to do about it? Whining isn't helping, sister, so get off your tuckus and figure this one out. It is novelty you're missing, I tell myself. If I look around, I might find some variety right here at home without spending any of the dimes that are lost under my sofa cushions.

Here are five no and low-cost ways to inject novelty into our home spaces right now.

1. Go through your cupboards and pantry and find all the fancy foodstuff you've been hoarding. That jar of homemade fig jam the neighbor gave you, the cute jar of honey with the chunk of honeycomb in it, and the fancy package of crackers? What are you waiting for? Get a nice cheese and give yourself an special little appetizer experience this weekend. That expensive box of Maldon salt hidden on the back of the shelf? Pour some into a pinch bowl and keep it out to fancify your finished dishes. Now is the time to drink the good wine and use the truffle oil, even if it's just on mac and cheese or frozen French fries.
2. Do the same thing with bath products you've squirreled away. Glitz up your day-to-day routine by digging out these bougie things you've been saving. If a worldwide pandemic isn't a special occasion, I don't know what is. Smell nice. Use a new soap or soak and call it a fake-ation spa experience.
3. Switch up your bedding. Rustle through your linen closet for stashed sheets, comforters, blankets, and bedspreads and exchange them for your day-to-day ones. What is old is new again. Go crazy mixing patterns and colors. Making things different is what this is all about. For that matter, why not sleep in the guest room for a week, just to shake up the routine? Almost anything divergent is helpful about now. It's only a temporary commitment meant to lift your spirits and see things anew.
4. Do the spiff-and-swap throughout your space. Channel your inner Leanne Ford and snip some branches from your yard and put them on your table in the biggest jar you can find. If you've got your grandma's china or an unused set of dishes or top-shelf glassware, use them now. Would it make your space more alive to paint those shelves bright blue like you've always wanted? Channel your inner Rayman Boozer and do it. I recently swapped the art pieces around in our house, an easy ennui-busting solution with the cheer-rising effect I'd hoped for.
5. Now that you've lifted your first space from the doldrums, what is the one aspirational thing you'd like to incorporate into your cooking cred, something that challenges your skills? Clear the deck this weekend, make a shopping list, and get ready to blow your own mind. How about adding the perfect European café steak-frites to your repertoire? Learn to sous vide a steak-- Lana at Lana Under Pressure is a great teacher. I do not typically make fried foods at home, so I also challenged myself to make perfect hand-cut French fries to replace the baked ones I usually do, and I can't wait to do this for friends once we become vaccine-worthy. It was fun, and gave me a new skill.

Homemade Authentic French Fries

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: French

Season: Bounty (August - October), Evergreen (April - July), Mist (November - March)

Dietary: Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 22 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 28 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Making real-deal French fries at home is fun! Make them to go with your European café-style sous-vide steak for perfect steak-frites.

Print Recipe

Equipment

• Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer

Ingredients

• 2-3 large Russet potatoes per person
• 3 liters canola or peanut oil
• salt

Instructions

• Scrub and peel the potatoes. To cut them into perfect French fries, square them up by trimming of the top, bottom and four sides of the potato to start with a block. Then, slice the potatoes into approximate 1/3 inch (less than 1/2 centimeter) slabs, and then cut the slabs into approximate 1/3 inch strips.
• Place the cut potatoes into a large bowl of cold water. Leave for 15 minutes. This removes excess starch from the potatoes that would cause them to stick together when cooked, and helps them be extra crispy.
• While the potatoes are soaking, pour the oil into a deep pot, at least 5 inches deep. Begin to heat the oil on medium heat.
• After 15 minutes, drain and thoroughly rinse the potatoes. Lay them out in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel. Dab them dry with another clean towel to remove all water from all sides of the cut potatoes.
• Raise the heat under the pot to medium high. Bring the canola or peanut oil to 270°F (130°C) when measured with an instant-read thermometer.
• First fry: Working in batches, place the dried cut potatoes into the hot oil. You may use a fry basket or mesh strainer to lower them into the oil, and to remove them from the oil. Blanch them for 8 minutes. They will look pale and flabby. That's OK! Lay them out on a baking sheet to cool, separating them with tongs.
• Second fry: Raise the oil to 350°F (180°C.) Mind your temperature. When the oil is at temperature (use your instant-read thermometer again) place some of the blanched potatoes into the hot oil, being sure not to overcrowd them. You'll be doing this step in batches unless you're only cooking a few potatoes. Cook the potatoes until they are a nice medium-golden color, or to your liking.
• Remove the potatoes with a strainer (or fry basket if you're using one) and put them into a large bowl.
• Toss with a generous amount of your favorite salt, and serve while hot with excellent ketchup.

Notes

Make It Your Own:

Add pepper, red chili flakes or paprika, garlic powder, or minced rosemary to the salt, or any combination of them to suit your tastes.

Sprinkle with truffle oil. If you do this, be sure to stand over it and inhale the beautiful scent that will waft up when the oil hits the hot French fries. 

Tip:

Mind your temperature along the way. If you're using a heavy pot as you should be, the temperature will want to climb and drop. You'll likely need to continuously keep an eye and make adjustments throughout the process. 

This is a hands-on, eyes-on process. To stay focused, don't attempt to multi-task!